Regardless of how the final moments of Jesus مﻼﺴﻟا ﻪﯿﻠﻋ are interpreted, Muslims generally agree that he left this world alive in a miracle called the Ascension. Allah raised him to heaven where he now remains, alive and well, until he will descend near the end of time in the Second Coming. He will return to defeat the False Messiah (al-Masih al-Dajjal) and renew the truth faith, after which he will die a natural death.
Allah ﷻ said:
As Allah said, ‘O Jesus, I will take you and raise you unto Myself, purify you from those who disbelieve, and make those who follow you greater than those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection. Then unto Me will you return, and I will judge between you over your differences.’ 140
The righteous predecessors disagreed over the meaning of the phrase “I will take you” in this verse, because the verb tawaffa is also a euphemism for death (like saying someone ‘passed away’). One group of scholars said that Jesus مﻼﺴﻟاﻪﯿﻠﻋ was raised up in his sleep, such as Al-Rabia’, “It means taking during sleep. Allah raised him while he was sleeping.” Another group said “take” means to “receive,” so Allah took him up alive. Al-Tabari explains, “It means I will receive you from the earth unto My hosts, and take you to a place with Me without death.” 141
140 The Qur'ān, Sūrat Āli ‘Imrān 3:55.
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A third group said that the word “take” here really is a euphemism for death. Ibn Abbas reportedly explained “I will take you” as “I will cause you die,” as well as another report from Wahb, “Allah made Jesus the son of Mary pass away for three hours of the day until He raised him up to Himself.” 142This interpretation seems to implicitly accept that the miracle of the Resurrection occurred, since it is agreed upon that Jesus مﻼﺴﻟاﻪﯿﻠﻋ ascended to heaven alive. However, it could be said that he died a natural death, not by crucifixion, and was brought back to life and raised to heaven.
In any case, Al-Tabari prefers the interpretation that Jesus was “received” by Allah alive, without dying, because of “the unanimous reports from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that Jesus the son of Mary will descend and kill the False Messiah… then he will die and the Muslims will pray over him and bury him.” 143 Whether Jesus مﻼﺴﻟاﻪﯿﻠﻋ was raised in his sleep, or he was raised up alive, or he died and was resurrected, it is agreed upon that he is now alive in heaven and waiting to return. The Prophet ﷺ describes the event as follows:
By Allah, the son of Mary will descend as a just ruler. He will abolish the cross, kill the swine, and annul the tribute, but he will leave the she-camel such that no one collects from it. He will cause rancor, hatred, and envy to disappear, and he will call people to give their wealth in charity but no one will need it. 144
In another narration, the Prophet ﷺ told us that Jesus مﻼﺴﻟا ﻪﯿﻠﻋ will defer to the Muslim prayer leader at the time, as an indication that he will come to fulfill the teachings of the Qur’an and Sunnah:
Jesus the son of Mary, upon him be peace, will descend and the leader will invite him to lead the prayer but he will say, ‘No, some of you are leaders over others and this is an honor for this nation.’ 145
142 al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʻ al-Bayān ‘an Ta’wīl al-Qur’ān, 6:457 verse 3:55. 143 al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʻ al-Bayān ‘an Ta’wīl al-Qur’ān, 6:458 verse 3:55.
144 Muslim, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim , 1:136 #155, kitab al-Iman bab nuzul ‘Isa ibn Maryam. 145 Muslim, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim , 1:137 #156, kitab al-Iman bab nuzul ‘Isa ibn Maryam.
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The second coming of Jesus مﻼﺴﻟاﻪﯿﻠﻋwill be characterized by the return of justice to the world after a period of great injustice and oppression at the hands of the False Messiah and his allies. He will be preceded by a righteous Muslim leader, sometimes referred to as Al-Mahdi (“the guided one”), much in the same way he was first preceded by John the Baptist. Jesus will renew the true religion once again before the end of time and the Day of Judgment arrive; the true kingdom of God will be re-established on earth.
Jesus مﻼﺴﻟاﻪﯿﻠﻋ will abolish the cross (literally ‘break’ the cross) because now that he has returned, he has the right to correct all of the false beliefs spread in his name. Even some Christians themselves believe crucifixes with the image of a man on them are prohibited as ‘graven images’ according to the Torah, “You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” 146 That said, it is not the right of Muslims to break the cross, but only Jesus after he returns, since the practice of Christianity is protected by Islamic law.
Additionally, Jesus’ message of love for the neighbor will prevail until rancor, hatred, and envy disappear between people. Jesus مﻼﺴﻟا ﻪﯿﻠﻋ will also abolish any tribute because, since all people are witness to him as a living miracle, they will have no choice but to believe in him. As mentioned earlier, when people are given unmistakable signs from Allah, they are required to believe in them.
The Second Coming is part of the branch of Islamic theology known as
eschatology. It is easy for people to be misled on these issues if they do not know why they were revealed in the first place, or how they can be understood consistently with the rest of the religion’s teachings. Only Allah knows exactly how and when these signs will appear, as “Allah alone has knowledge of the Hour.”147 Some people try to construct a precise timeline from the plethora of reports on this topic, many of which are of dubious authenticity or open to diverging interpretations; they might even imagine they can or should do some
146 Exodus 20:4; Coogan et al., The New Oxford Annotated Bible, 110. 147 The Qur'ān, Sūrat Luqmān 31:34.
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things to speed up the end of the world. Such efforts are futile and fruitless, as the specifics of the Unseen are known only to Allah.
Rather, the Prophet ﷺ stated his reasoning for informing us about signs of the end-times:
Hasten to perform good deeds before seven events: Are you waiting for poverty that makes you forgetful? Or wealth that burdens you? Or a debilitating disease or senility? Or an unexpected death or the False Messiah? Or is it evil in the unseen you are waiting for? Or the Hour itself? The Hour will be bitter and terrible. 148
Belief in the Second Coming and other signs before the Last Day does not mean we should just wait for Jesus مﻼﺴﻟا ﻪﯿﻠﻋ or the next great Caliph to come solve our problems. Rather, we should “hasten to perform good deeds” when we are alive, healthy, and able, because times of peace, stability, and safety will not last forever and we should not take them for granted. As stated by Al-’Ala’i, “The purpose of these reports is to encourage initiative in performing good deeds before our end and to make the most of our time before disaster strikes.” 149
Conclusion
It may be that no religious figure in history has been honored and revered by so many human beings as Jesus Christ مﻼﺴﻟاﻪﯿﻠﻋ. The theological, moral, and narrative elements of his life serve as an important basis for dialogue between Muslims and Christians, particularly his teaching to love God and to love one’s neighbor as oneself. After all, if all Muslims and Christians truly and sincerely loved good for their neighbors as Allah has commanded through His messengers, the world would be a better place for everyone.
148 al-Tirmidhī, Sunan al-Tirmidhī, 4:128 #2306; declared fair (ḥasan ) by Al-Tirmidhī in the commentary. 149 al-Munāwī, Fayḍ al-Qadīr: Sharḥ al-Jāmiʻ al-Ṣaghīr (Miṣr [Cairo]: al-Maktabah al-Tijārīyah al-Kubrá, 1938),
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That said, there are real religious differences between Muslims and Christians that cannot be ignored or downplayed. At the heart of the disagreement is what Allah requires from us to achieve salvation in the next life. These disagreements, nevertheless, do not preclude Muslims and Christians from living together in peace and cooperating on mutually beneficial activities for the betterment of humankind.